Hasta La Gadget!

The folks at Rovio have been hard at work on a sequel for the mega-popular Angry Birds franchise, here turning the whole world upside-down with Bad Piggies. This sequel to the Angry Birds original will have the mechanics of the game changed just a bit, with the Pigs being the center of attention instead of the Birds whom, up until now, where the ones you were tossing at the enemies – those being the Pigs. Here Rovio is letting details loose in bits in pieces in videos and comics to tease you ’til the final release.

The first set of clues you’re going to want to take a look at is here in a series of videos. What this playlist will show you is a set of science-related sequences that may very well lead up to the pigs bringing on their own inventions for the final game. What we’re seeing here is building – lots of building – and fire – lots of fire. Could the Piggies be racing soon?

They note that “gasoline should never be brought indoors”, this letting us know that there’s almost certainly going to be some explosions happening here in the next chapter. There’s a woodsman cutting down a tree, several airplanes taking off, and a bunch of balloons being left to fly straight upward. There’s a video showing the bottom of a shopping cart, and great amounts of creation.

There are also a couple of comics up made by a couple of talented artists (the massively talented duo of writer Jukka Heiskanem and illustrator Giorgio Cavazzano) who are showing off quite clearly what at least one part of the game will be about. The first of two comics has a young Pig creating a cart that quickly smashes into the ground. The second has a more seasoned Piggie helping the smaller Pig with a new cart, this time working with dynamite jets and an umbrella up top to keep him afloat.

The key here is the phrase “I’m afraid your design is not going to work.” This leads us to believe that this game will be all about building, physics, and crashing – or flying, by the looks of it. Stay tuned as Bad Piggies gets its first big release on the 27th of September – coming up quick!

[via Rovio]

Angry Birds sequel Bad Piggies brings wave of video clues is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

On the 12th of this month we’re almost certainly going to be seeing the next-generation iPhone 5, a device that today has been tipped to be appearing in Apple stores on the 21st of September (just a couple weeks from now). This tip comes from GottaBeMobile where they’ve got a trusted source speaking on the subject making it clear that pre-order shipments will be made on the 21st of the month but that in-store deliveries might be made later on. The tipster also mentioned that shippers might be sending out shipment notifications before the actual devices are out on the trucks.

The next-generation iPhone is set to have a 4-inch display with high definition technology behind the reinforced glass that covers its front. The back will be a combination of aluminum through the center cover and glass strips above and below, while the camera technology and flash have not yet been tipped or leaked in any way shape or form. All of the information that’s yet been released on this iPhone 5 device has only been rumored and certainly not confirmed by Apple as of yet.

The September 12th announcement date has been made official by Apple and we will be liveblogging the entire event right before your eyes. Stay tuned to our live portal to keep your iPhone news fresh and up to the second, and stick to our Apple portal for news up until the event comes down. Also make sure to check the timeline below for other key moments in the pre-event tipline regarding this device as well. The iPhone 5 will be appearing soon, one way or another, so keep your wallets open!

Also note that there’ve been several other Apple devices tipped for release or refresh in the weeks ahead, including the iMac all-in-one computer and the Apple Thunderbolt display. The Thunderbolt display specifically may be working with a new bit of wireless technology connected to the iPhone 5 without the need of the Apple TV. All of this is of course analytics and guesswork until the final announcements are made – stay tuned!

iPhone 5 release date tipped for September 21 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Even though the Wii U is supposed to launch in time for the holiday shopping season – which is quickly approaching, remember – we still don’t have pricing or release date information on the console. It’s widely assumed that Nintendo will spill these details during a press event in New York City on September 13, but we may have just found out the Wii U’s release date a little ahead of time thanks to a slip up during a presentation from PDP at the GameStop managers’ conference today. According to Kotaku, a representative from PDP, which makes gaming peripherals, said that the company’s Wii U accessories will be available ahead of the console’s November 18 launch.

Interesting – PDP may have just accidentally confirmed the Wii U’s release date. Of course, since Kotaku originally ran its story, both Nintendo and PDP have responded. Nintendo went with the old standby “we have nothing to announce at this time,” while a rep from PDP said that the company “simply” does not know when Nintendo will be launching the console, and that anything said during the presentation wasn’t meant to confirm or deny any upcoming release date.

That seems like a bit of a stretch, as accessory makers and game developers likely do know when the Wii U is launching, but they’re keeping that elusive date under wraps at the request of Nintendo. After all, if the Wii U is going to be launching within the next couple of months, those who are making products for it need to know when the console will hit shelves. PDP can say that it doesn’t know when the Wii U is launching all it wants, but we’re thinking that the company knows more than its letting on.

So, the Wii U might be launching on November 18. That seems like a pretty late launch, but it should still give Nintendo enough time to cash in before the holiday shopping season begins to wind down. Hopefully the company’s strategy works, because the last thing the Nintendo needs is another launch debacle like the one that plagued the 3DS. Stay tuned.

Wii U reportedly launching on November 18 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We already told you that Electronic Arts used its Gamescom press conference to reveal Battlefield 3 Premium Edition, but it was also there that the release date for Dead Space 3 was announced. The latest installment in the excellent Dead Space series will launch on February 5, 2013 in the US and February 8 in Europe, so get ready to go to war with the Necropmorphs all over again. Electronic Arts also announced that those who pre-order Dead Space 3 will be getting a free upgrade to the Limited Edition, which includes two DLC bundles.

The bundles in question have been dubbed “First Contact” and “Witness the Truth.” First Contact grants players the First Contact suit of armor and the Negotiator weapon. Both sport a golden finish, with Negotiator capable of “bursting a man-sized organism into several pieces with a single shot.” On the other hand, we have the Witness the Truth bundle, which comes the Witness armor and the Evangelizer weapon, a gun that is both a tactical shotgun and an AL-2g assault rifle.

To accompany the release date announcement, Electronic Arts also revealed Dead Space 3‘s new weapon crafting system. A first for the series, this system will allow players to craft and upgrade weapons using various components (obviously). We’re told that the weapons included in the Limited Edition bundle packs can be used as blueprints in crafting mode, so it sounds like you’ll be able to make those two weapons even more absurd if you wish.

Dead Space 3 has experienced its share of controversy among series fans, as this new games takes the conflict out of space and places it on the frozen planet Tau Volantis. It also introduces a new co-op mode, which is another first for the series, so there are some pretty significant changes this time around. Will Dead Space 3 still be able to muster the excellent review scores the series is known for? We’ll find out on February 5.

Dead Space 3 release date targets early February 2013 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Last month, Ubisoft stuck with tradition and announced that the PC version of Assassin’s Creed III had been delayed. At the time, the publisher didn’t give a new release date for the title, only saying that it would be out before Christmas. Now we know when Assassin’s Creed III will be arriving on PC, with Ubisoft giving it a release date of November 20 in North America and November 23 in the UK.

With the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions launching on October 31, this means that PC players will have less than a month to wait before their own version of Assassin’s Creed III is released. That’s a new thing for Ubisoft, as typically it waits more than a month to launch the PC version of any given game. That probably won’t do much to make PC players happy given the fact that delaying its PC games appears to be one of Ubisoft’s favorite things, but hey, at least it’s a start.

Ubisoft still hasn’t explained why it delayed the PC version of Assassin’s Creed III, but that isn’t anything new. Ubisoft often delays these PC games without giving any reason at all, leaving us to guess at the reasoning behind the decision. That isn’t a quality exclusive to Ubisoft either, as many publishers like to do the same exact thing.

So, we’ll probably never know why Assassin’s Creed III was delayed on PC, but at least now we have a solid release date for it. PC delay woes aside, Assassin’s Creed III does look quite cool, as it appears to actually mix things up within the series. After three Assassin’s Creed games featuring Ezio, a shake up was sorely needed in order to keep fans interested, so Ubisoft is definitely on the right track with Assassin’s Creed III. Stay tuned for more information.

[via Joystiq]

Assassin’s Creed III PC release date finally announced is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.